Survivor's Morgan Explains Her Mean Girls Comments: "I'm Not Ageist"

So much for not burning bridges in the Survivor universe!

Survivor: Cagayan's latest castoff, Morgan McLeod, went out in a blaze of glory pettiness Wednesday night, badmouthing fellow contestant Kass McQuillen for being "bitter," "ugly" and "40." (¡Que horror!)

Reflecting on her comments this week, McLeod stops short of saying she regrets making them, but admits that she probably should have thought twice about making some of her remarks.

"I maybe said some ageist comments," Morgan told TVGuide.com this week. "I'm not an ageist. I made some mean comments at a time where I was really, really upset. But I don't hate her."

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Check out our full exit Q&A with Morgan to get her thoughts on why she wasn't surprised to be eliminated and which player she believes is the one making the biggest moves in the game.

At a certain point, you seemed to kind of embrace the fact that some of the other tribe members weren't really taking to you. Were you surprised to get voted off?
Morgan: I really wasn't surprised. I kind of knew. That whole day, I had been preparing myself for the reality that I was possibly getting voted out that night. When it happened, I just wished Tasha good luck and I said goodbye. I made the jury. I can't regret this. I'm proud of myself.

You and Sarah are the first two members of the jury. Did you have a bonding moment?
Morgan: Sarah and I had a blast together at Ponderosa. ... We had so much fun. I was doing her makeup, we were just eating and eating. It was a full bar, so we were just having a blast together.

You guys faced some pretty tough conditions, especially in the first part of the season. Was it somewhat a relief to get voted off?
Morgan: I wasn't relieved in the sense that it was like, 'Thank God I'm off the island, it's over.' But, everyone is a little happy that they can finally eat and have some food and have a bed. Sleeping on bamboo for 22 days is the worst thing you can possibly do for your back. It is so painful. So I was just happy to have those comforts back, but of course I would have loved to stay in the game and possibly win a million dollars. But, that's how my game happened.

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You apologized on Twitter for what you called a Mean Girls moment. Were you posturing for the camera, or do you really believe some of the things you said last night, about being used to people doing things for you because of your looks?
Morgan: I feel like I said some things that were a little mean, and some people definitely did not like it. But I also said some truthful things that maybe people just don't want to admit. Like when I said that comment about, if you could choose between ugly and cute, people would choose cute. I think that that's a truthful thing, but maybe it just isn't the right thing to say and maybe not for all of America to hear. I'm getting some heat on Twitter. I had some Mean Girls moments, but I mean, that's just who I am. People who know me know that I'm not just this malicious girl, but it kind of came across that way.

You and Kass certainly clashed in particular. What was the issue between you two?
Morgan: After the merge ... we were having a blast on the beach. We were all getting along, telling stories. She told us pretty much her whole life story, which is a story in itself, and I was laughing, having a great time with everyone. And then when she flipped and Sarah got voted out, I just started to ignore her. I didn't really engage in yelling at her when we got back from Tribal. You can see Spencer was the one that was kind of in her face. I just lay down. I didn't want any part of it. I just didn't want to fight with her. I ignored her. And then, she took ignoring as being mean to her, as you can see. We kind of got into a little tiff about getting water. But yeah, I just thought, I'm mad. I'm really upset with her. I do not like her, so I'm just going to ignore her instead of causing mayhem. But ignoring her I guess made her extremely uncomfortable. And Tony and the alliance and all them, they wanted Kass to feel really comfortable and great, so I had to go.

Were you as shocked as everyone else was when Kass flipped last week?
Morgan: We were shocked. We all thought we were strong. For her to say that we ignored her and that we were mean to her, that is all in her head. We were fine. So, when she flipped, we just could not believe it. And, who would do that? You have so many people that do not like you anymore. ... I thought it was a dumb move.

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Was Sarah's elimination the most surprising to you so far?
Morgan: Oh my gosh, absolutely. We were so confident, and it was just a complete blindside. And I was so sad that she got voted out, because she was such a great player.

A lot has been said about you and some of the other ladies not pulling your weight around camp this season. Is that fair?
Morgan: For them to say that I do absolutely nothing, I think that's an exaggeration. I will admit that Jefra, Alexis and I on the Beauty tribe definitely got used to having the boys do everything. And they didn't complain. They never asked for us to do anything.

Alexis said the same thing.
Morgan: Oh yeah. The boys would wake up super early and cook rice and then wake us up. ... They never said anything and they never complained. So, I got used to it. And then, when we merged, I helped. I did. Maybe I wasn't, like, the workhorse. I wasn't the main person getting the water, cooking the rice. But I helped when people needed help.

Did you just underestimate the value of the social game?
Morgan: I think that I could have played a better social game, but when you're so hungry and you're dehydrated and you're all alone, you feel like there's no one that you can just completely trust. I kind of just wanted to be by myself at times. It was rough being around everyone 24/7. I think that if I was ever to play again, I know that I just have to suck it up and be happy-go-lucky all the time.

Were you irritated that you were chosen to sit out of certain challenges?
Morgan: That was just so annoying, because I thought I was doing well in the challenges. There was never a challenge where it was like, Morgan blew it. I always performed and I always held my own. I think when we merged, they saw my outer appearance and they're like, "Oh, Morgan, why don't you sit this one out?" I'm like, "No, you don't understand. I actually can do these challenges." But, I sat out and I don't think it really affected my game at all. What if I did blow it? Then people would hate me even more than they maybe already did. So I don't think it really hurt me.

Is there anything you would have done differently in the game?
Morgan: In my last episode, [Wednesday] night, I maybe said some ageist comments [about Kass]. "She's 40," blah blah blah. I'm not an ageist. I made some mean comments at a time where I was really, really upset. But, I don't hate her. I don't hate anyone on the tribe. I'm sorry I upset some people, but I was just telling how I feel. I don't regret anything.

Who do you think is the biggest threat in the game going forward?
Morgan: Being in the game and now getting to watch it, I didn't realize that Trish was actually making moves and playing the game. So I think Trish is a threat. I had no idea. I thought she was just a follower of Tony's, but she's doing well.

Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS. What do you think of Morgan's comments?

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